Pac-12 Rewind: Utah, Colorado remain winless in conference play

A look back at what happened this weekend in the Pacific-12 Conference:

What we learned: Those people who said Utah's glittery won-lost records while playing in the Mountain West wouldn't be so glittery if the Utes had to play in a tougher league week in and week out?

They were right.

Utah lost for the third consecutive time in a Pac-12 game Saturday, falling at home 35-14 to Arizona State.

The Utes, picked to finish third in the Pac-12 South behind USC and ASU, fell to fifth at 0-3, 2-3 overall.

Some people thought Utah lacked sufficient depth and size to win big in an FBS conference, and that might be true.

The Utes were playing without injured QB Jordan Wynn, and Jon Hays, in his first major-college start, displayed a strong arm but a lot of inexperience in throwing three costly interceptions.

Utah has not had it easy so far. Its three losses were to USC, Washington and ASU, teams with a combined 13-3 record.

The Utes get a break from conference play this week, traveling to Pittsburgh, whom Utah clobbered 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl to complete an undefeated 2004 season under then-coach Urban Meyer.

Utah certainly hasn't been any worse than fellow newcomer Colorado, however. The Buffs are also looking for their first Pac-12 victory after falling to 0-2 (1-5 overall) with a 48-7 loss to Stanford.

Colorado would be 0-3 in league if its loss to California was not a prescheduled nonconference game.

Best performance: Tie between the two best players in the league, who were at their best last week.

Oregon running back LaMichael James carried the ball 30 times for 239 yards in a Thursday night rout of California. It was the third consecutive 200-yard game for James, who is averaging nine -- nine!! -- yards per carry.

However, James dislocated his elbow in the fourth quarter and could miss multiple games. That would create more opportunities for his talented backup, Kenjon Barner.

Oregon, ranked No. 9, is 2-0 in the Pac-12 North, 4-1 overall.

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck threw for a season-high 370 yards and three touchdowns, completing 26 of 33 passes with one interception.

Stanford (3-0 in the North, 5-0 overall) is ranked No.5 and has the longest winning streak in the nation at 13.

The date to remember is Nov. 12 -- Oregon at Stanford.

Biggest disappointment: If you lose the Disappointment Bowl, you must be the biggest disappointment.

Oregon State took its home field Saturday looking for its first victory of the season against similarly beleaguered Arizona, which came in with a 1-4 record.

The Beavers won it 37-27, handing Arizona its eighth consecutive conference defeat. Arizona quarterback Nick Foles threw for 378 yards and a touchdown but also chucked two interceptions. The Wildcats are in last place in the South division at 0-4.

Looking ahead: In what could be a preview of the inaugural Pac-12 Conference championship game, Arizona State, which has a firm grasp of first place in the South division, travels to Oregon, which is in a virtual tie with Stanford and Washington in the North.

ASU, ranked No. 20, has impressively whipped arguably the other two best teams in the South -- USC and Utah -- and is 3-0, 5-1 overall.

Oregon has been on an absolute roll since losing its opener to LSU but could get tested, especially if James is glued to the bench.

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About Erick Smith

Erick Smith has managed USA TODAY's online college football coverage and picked
games on the web for the last 11 years. He's been a fan of the sport going back
to the days when the Big 12 and the BCS didn't exist and all the New Year's
Day games were actually played on New Year's Day. More
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About Nicole Auerbach

Nicole Auerbach joined USA TODAY in the fall of 2011 to oversee online college
basketball coverage. She's a New Jersey native and a big fan of Big Ten football
and basketball. She firmly believes Madness need not be limited to just March.
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